las aventuras en Argentina: Bariloche: Días uno y dos

Since I finished midterms and am on an LSA program (sometimes we do a lot of work, sometimes we do no work), I have a full week of vacation to do whatever and go wherever I want! So after much consideration and planning, I decided to spend the week in San Carlos de Bariloche, a part of Argentina's Patagonia. Because I'm just so adventurous (sarcastic self call) I opted to take the bus (22 hours) instead of the plane (3 hours). It helped that the bus was 1/3 of the cost of the plane ticket. And since it was such a cheaper option, I decided to splurge and buy a first class semi-cama seat that folded a full 160 degrees! Once on the bus, I was also surprised to find that as a first class customer, I was provided a small 200 litre bottle of the finest 2012 Malbec wine (which I recognized from the grocery store as a $3/bottle brand) and a glass of champagne for dessert (which I drank after brushing my teeth- oops). My seat was on the top floor in the front of the bus, so I had a fantastic view of the trip. I took random videos and compiled them here, if you care to see what a 22 hour bus ride looks like in 2 minutes. My attendant was very helpful and asked me a lot of questions about the United States, including if I lived in Aspen, Colorado (What? I know it caught me off guard too). I've come to find that many people in Argentina live in an incredibly beautiful and diverse country, but cannot afford to travel outside of their province, let alone country. It's an unfortunate fact that makes me feel bad I have been given all of these opportunities just because I was born in a different country.

My home for the next day

Beautiful sunset that I wouldn't have gotten on a plane

I would recommend going by bus because 1) it's a helluva lot cheaper than going by plane 2) you get a taste of the landscape of the country 3) you get more benefits for less cost (like champagne and wine included) and 4) you can always sleep for the 20+ hours! Which is what I did. I woke up at 8am just in time for breakfast to be served and we arrived in Bariloche at 10am, perfect timing for me to get unpacked at my hostel, buy groceries, and maybe cram in a hike before the sun went down. Greenhouse hostel is a small hostel 5km from the Bariloche center. So far it's fantastic! They provided me with a card preloaded with 10 pesos to use for the public bus system. They allow residents to cook in their kitchen between 8am until 11pm, so I can make lunch and dinner for myself every day. The young guy who runs the place used to live in Buenos Aires but he hated the city so he travelled a bit before moving to Bariloche permanently. Because I am traveling to Patagonia in the off season, the hostel is more or less empty, so I have the entire 8 person dorm to myself. Which is really nice for safety reasons but definitely a bit lonely. I did meet a nice couple from Holland that was living in the dorm but was leaving today. They both quit their jobs and have been traveling around Argentina for the past month and are going to travel around the rest of South America (sans Brazil) plus a bit of Europe for the next 6 months. I asked the woman if they were married and she said no- they spent all of their wedding money on this trip. What a perfect way to spend money that was supposed to go towards a wedding!

After buying groceries and resting for a bit, it was only 3pm and I realized that I AM IN PATAGONIA and need to get off my butt and start taking advantage of that by hiking. I compromised with my tired self and took a short trek up Campanario, a hill/mountain that's about a 20 minute public bus ride away from the hostel and 40 minutes to the peak. It was short but I was sweating a little over half way up. Probably shouldn't have worn jeans. What a dumbass. Almost to the top and panting, I hear noises and figure I'm close to the peak. I pick up my pace and emerge from the forest to see...

On the trail- OMG IT'S GUNNA BE SO BEAUTIFUL AT THE TOP

WAIT WHAT THE FUDGE

Yeah, there's a flippin' chairlift that takes you to the peak! I was flabbergasted: I could have taken the chairlift instead of busting my butt up this stupid mountain??

A Virgin Mary for all of the lazy-asses to pray for their safety at the scenic point

Nah just kidding I knew about the chairlift. It's for old people and lazy people. Good thing I have a beating heart and two working legs! At the top I celebrated the fact that I was the only person who had hiked to the peak (and there were well over 50 people at this scenic point) by buying an alfajore. I also asked people to take my photo for me instead of taking selfies. I know, they would have been awesome selfies, but I figured I should get a decent photo of my accomplishment.